The Quiet Woman

Classic steak & fish restaurant in Corona Del Mar on PCH. You know they must be doing something right as they've been in business in the same location since 1965. I first visited The Quiet Woman in 1982 when I was a young man freshly out of business school. I recall the food was great, but the crowd was a bit older than I was (26 at the time) and considerably more affluent. I'm now about the average age and affluence of the men at The QW, but I'm married and the women are a bit younger...lol...not that there's anything wrong with that. The vibe is "older affluent man meets younger attractive divorcee"; not unusual for any nice restaurant in Newport Beach, CA or Palm Beach, FL for that matter...chuckle.

Seriously, the food is quite good, the wine list impressive and the atmosphere lively. Lynn, the hostess is a lovely lady that will get you a nice table if humanly possible. The bar is always active on a weekend night and live music starts at about 9:00 PM. If you've never been to The Quiet Woman, you should definitely try it; if for no other reason, it's rich history and damn good food. I'm sure John Wayne ate there more than once. I think you'll like it, as I'm sure the Duke did when he was still around...

I was pleasantly surprised by The Quiet Woman! Full disclosure: As a die-hard Real Housewives fan visiting Newport Beach for the day, the fact that this is the spot where Shannon Beador threw a plate at Kelly Dodd was an immediate pull. Whether or not the food would be decent was secondary. That being said, we had a lovely time and the food was great!

The service was very friendly and attentive. My party of two got seated at a big comfy booth that could have easily fit 4. We started with cocktails (I got the Anjou, a refreshing pear and grapefruit martini) and an order of calamari. The calamari was interesting in that it was pounded flat and sliced, as opposed to served in "ring style." While the accoutrements (tartar and cocktail sauce) weren't the most exciting, the calamari itself was cooked beautifully and melted in your mouth.

For dinner, I ordered the chili seared shrimp. Again, the shrimp were cooked to perfection. Although I didn't get a ton of chili flavor, the creamy coconut curry was absolutely delicious. Would definitely order again!

Finally, for dessert we ordered the "Bittersweet," a flourless chocolate cake topped with coffee ice cream and salted caramel sauce. A standard and straight-forward dessert but delicious nonetheless. We ate every bite! For RHOC fans, a visit to the Quiet Woman is worth the novelty alone but stay for the food and you might be surprised!

Came here for a girls night out. We went there in hopes to run into some housewives but no luck.

Our waitress, Tiffany, was great too. She took our drink orders quickly and even recommended some drinks to the girls in our party. She even took our orders after we got enjoy our drinks.

They do not disappoint with their alcoholic beverages. I ordered a Paloma and most places water the drink down...not this place. I had to ask for extra juice to mask all the tequila in the drink. But it was yummy!

Our group ended up ordering the QW salad which is like your very own salad bar. They basically give you a bowl with your greens and the dressing to your choice/liking and put all the toppings (broccoli, bacon, mushrooms, carrots, bean sprouts, croutons, and chickpeas) on a Lazy Susan. All the topping were very fresh and the croutons were seasoned really well. They were not too hard, just right.

For my entree, I ordered the Short Rib Pappardelle. First off, the short rib was so tender and flavorful. The pasta (pappardelle) was cooked perfectly, not soggy and more on the al dente side. The carrots were on the harder side and I wasn't much of a fan but the food was still great.

If you are looking for a cool night out with friends or a date night, I definitely recommend this place. They do have a band who plays during weekends but make sure to get there early because it does get packed.

Food and ambiance are 10/10

Get the salad, ravioli, the filet & scallops

Everything is amazing and delicious

Was able to get in last minute for a 5 pm reservation- thank you Julius.

What we had:
Wine - attempted to order Flowers Pinot Noir but sold out so I had Duckhorn Decoy Merlot which is ok but I like smaller boutique wines and was the only one drinking wine.

The QW salad - I love how it comes with all the additions and the cheesy bread!

Scallops were really good with asparagus and cauliflower mash and a red pepper sauce.

Seafood bisque was rich, delicious and had a good amount of fish. I loved it. I love soups and any restaurant that has regularly rotating soups is my jam.

The setting is classic with booths and a darker feel which is a thing of the past but I like the separation for the tables and how cozy it is. The artwork and staff are also great.

If you don't know about QW you should!

We will be back.

One of the best restaurant experiences I have had. I'll share of a couple key memories from the evening.

- service. Service is top notch especially with 3 kids. We were first greeted by Julius. We requested a certain table and were given that table. Our waitress Jessica came immediately to our table for drinks. We received amazing service where water was always filled and we felt well attended. Amazing job.

- food. Wow the food. Great food options for fancy dining and for kids. We started with an artichoke for our family. Soooo good. Kids had the world's best chicken fingers and Mac and cheese. Wow so good. My wife had the scallops and I had the roast. Both amazing choices. Can't go wrong everything on the table was award winning. Great job kitchen. Oh the bread how could I forget. Jessica brought it out wow the best.

Thank you for making this a special evening for my wife's birthday with the family. If you have kids. It's a great place to eat great food for the entire family at a great price.

Ambience was super cool too. Really an amazing stop. Please go here.

It's definitely not worth the hype. The food and environment were ok. I don't think I'll ever go back. It's not worth the price. There is better out there.

I haven't been here for a long while, and when I did come, it was for HH with the gf's. Well, this time I brought the hubby because we were in the mood to people watch.

Nothing's changed, except I now fit the typical age group! The band was good. The food was good. The bartenders and staff were their usual charming selves.

I'm glad we had the table in the back, because it was the perfect vantage point!

We had a GREAT time! Keep up the good work!

I've been here multiple times now and while the filet mignon has yet to fail me, we tried their spicy vodka pasta and it was very underwhelming. Their cocktails are always fun and yummy and they have a good variety. In terms of service, our waitress only came to our table twice, once for the drink order and once for the dinner order. She never checked on how our food was, didn't clean/declutter the table, or offer to have the rest of our food packed up.
I enjoy this place for the experience and for the food but I was quite disappointed with the service all around today.

Fun atmosphere and great meal. The Ahi starter was fantastic. The service is always attentive.

We went for dinner on a Tuesday night. The restaurant was busy but not too busy. We were looking for a quiet spot for dinner with lovely ambience and it was perfect.

Our waitress, Autumn was friendly and helpful with menu suggestions. We selected the cheese plate as the appetizer with glasses of red wine. The sea salt goat cheese was killer!

We had the Crab Cake for dinner with a beautiful mixed green salad. The dressing was simply a white balsamic vinaigrette. It was so delicious with the fresh fruits and tomatoes, it was like eating a dessert. Scrumptious!

The Lobster Tacos were packed with flavor and piled with pieces of lobster. They did not skimp on the ingredients.
And everything was reasonably priced.

We were taken back at the large servings. We have become accustomed to tiny plates and servings. You are not going to leave hungry at The Quiet Woman.

We saw other reviews that said the restaurant was loud. We intentionally made a reservation for Tuesday evening to avoid the big crowds and noise. It was cozy and we were easily able to converse. And we look forward to going back again to try other items on the menu. The butter cake is definitely in our future.